NATIONAL

PREIT CEO says new Virginia development is prime for experiential retailers
Retail Brew
Retail vacancies in the United States dropped to 6.1% in Q2 of last year, a 15-year low. But asking rents for shopping center spaces during that same time were 16% higher than five years ago, per Cushman & Wakefield. Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) is one landlord that's signing tenants for one of its newest developments in a major market.

States like California want to make it easier to convert offices into housing
Marketplace
As more Americans work from home, some developers and lawmakers are seeing that unused office space as an opportunity to create more housing. In 2022, the national office vacancy rate reached an almost three-decade high of about 17%, according to a report from the real estate company CBRE released late last year. Meanwhile, as those office buildings sit idle, rents have climbed up on a year-over-year basis.

COLORADO

Property taxes may be going up for mesa county homeowners
Western Slope Now
Next year could be rough for homeowners. A sharp increase in property tax is on its way. Mesa County assessor brent Goff told me in his 27 years in this business he's never seen such a sharp rise in property prices. He told me property tax is based on several things including the legislature's rate, and any mill levies from local municipalities along with the value of the home.

LOUISIANA

Governor rejects Folgers Coffee Co.'s tax exemptions in state's final decision
Louisiana Illuminator
Gov. John Bel Edwards has rejected a state board's decision to grant Folgers Coffee Co. millions in property tax exemptions, restoring the initial decisions local taxing authorities in New Orleans made. Edwards issued a statement Monday saying his denial of Folgers' applications under the state's Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) will be made official after he receives them from Louisiana Economic Development.

MAINE

Maine Coast Mall granted $6M abatement
ellsworthamerican.com
The decision comes after Union River Associates appealed the 2019 tax assessment by Ellsworth's tax assessor, Larry Gardner, who valued the overall property at $18,220,900. The Maine Board of Property Tax Review reduced the mall's taxable value to $12 million. The state decision grants the mall a refund of $113,469 in taxes for 2019.

TEXAS

Property tax relief proposal gets a hearing before Texas House Ways & Means Committee
KEYE
State lawmakers are talking some high-level accounting as they try to provide billions of dollars in tax relief and still increase the state's share of public school funding. Texas Governor Greg Abbott campaigned on property tax relief and repeated his pledge in his State of the State Address. That's where he said, “Property taxes are suffocating Texans. We must fix that this session.”

Geren files last-minute bill to abolish embattled Tarrant Appraisal District
KERA News
The next time you get your property appraised, it could be someone from the state giving you your bill. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, filed a bill Friday to abolish the Tarrant Appraisal District, which faces increased scrutiny over a series of missteps and controversies within the past several years.

US boomtown Austin leaves many to fall by the wayside
DW
Austin has always been a colorful spot on the map of the largely archconservative US federal state of Texas. Governed by the Democratic Party, the city on the banks of the Colorado River wants to be seen as the unofficial world capital of live music, boasting no less than 250 venues where the music virtually never stops — even the airport greets travelers with live music.

More than 70 percent of Austin ISD employees are burdened by housing costs, survey finds
Austin Monitor
More than 70 percent Austin Independent School District employees are burdened by the cost of housing in the city, according to an online survey the district conducted this year. Many of the respondents said the high costs are pushing them to move outside of Austin and to consider leaving their jobs altogether.

VIRGINIA

After jump in real estate assessments as high as 40%, Portsmouth considers relief
WAVY.com
Help may be on the way after Portsmouth residents recently opened their mail to sticker shock. The assessed value of homes jumped again in the latest city reassessment, up as much as 40% for properties in the Brandon Square townhomes, after a nearly 9% overall increase in the previous year's assessment.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Supreme Court hears arguments in Outagamie County transportation fee case
Wisconsin Examiner
The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case involving an Outagamie County town that created a “transportation utility district” as a method for raising the funds to pay for the construction and maintenance of roads and related infrastructure outside of the typical property tax system and its levy limits.